John Chapman has produced a fresh set of fantastic 3D anaglyph images based on specimens figured in The Russell Society Journal Vol 25. These can be found on the Gallery page.

The Open Day for Whatley Quarry, Frome was an outstanding success for the quarry and for everyone participating. The weather was better than forecast and the sun shone for most of the day.

The event opened to the public at 10.30am. We, myself and Alistair Napier, had arrived 2 hours beforehand to set up the display and sort out the minerals to give away. We thought we had brought too many giveaways and I could not have got any more in to the car. We were determined that our surplus material was not coming back with us.

The quarry management team had organised a wide range of displays and activities while the highlight for many people was a visit in to the working quarry at Level 9 to see loading operations in practice. Access to the quarry was by three full size coaches going all the way down to Level 9 – I spoke to one of the drivers after the event closed and he said they had not stopped transporting people in and out since the first coach just after 10.30.

The displays included historical quarrying equipment such as steam driven crushers – very manpower intensive, the full range of modern transport, excavation and drilling equipment, radio controlled toy dumpers on a muck pile, mapping drones, explosive planning, the uses of the quarry products, quarry restoration and of course: a mineral display. Plus a wide range of food stalls catering for all tastes.

The management team had promoted the event widely and anticipated between one and two thousand people attending. In fact over five thousand people turned up on the day. This did cause problems in the local area with queues for several miles and waiting times of well over an hour. However, everyone we spoke to, which seemed like many thousands, were really impressed with the whole event and were full of praise. I spoke to people who had come from Poole but apparently some people had come from as far as Kent.

The mineral display proved popular with many youngsters and adults who were suitably impressed with the wide range of minerals found at Whatley Quarry. Many (both adults and children) were very happy to have a free mineral specimen and, as we have done at previous events, we encouraged the youngsters to write out their own label. It was surprising how many already had small mineral collections.

We had brought  around 300 specimens to give away. These had been cleaned and trimmed and the vast majority originated from Whatley – they all went. Indeed we had to hold back on the giving, as we were aware that some cars had been turned away in the morning and asked to come back in the afternoon so we felt it was only fair to try and spread out the supply of free minerals. To top it all, for some of the larger specimens we offered a “collect later service” – we were concerned that the people might not come back for them but they did!

Some people did say they would join The Society and although that would be a bonus, the main purpose of the display was to support the team at the quarry in their public interactions as a way of repaying the support they have provided to The Society over the years.

As I write this short note on the day after the event, it has been announced on the quarry community website that, due to the overwhelming success and wide interest it created, Whatley Quarry is considering holding another such event in the future, but could well implement a ticketing system to even out the flow of attendees over the day.

Chris Finch, 24th April 2023

A few pictures of the event.

This zoom meeting was oversubscribed so apologies if you could not log into it. The event was recorded and is available on Youtube

A short summary article has also been posted on Mindat

Please do join the debate and spread the word to friends and colleagues who might be interested- and MAKE A PLAN

Roy Starkey

Members should look out for an email giving the new password to the Member’s page, which has recently been changed.

Readers may be aware that the Royal Cornwall Museum is facing a reduction in its funding, and is looking to update its offering, in order to give the museum a more robust future.

Following the ASM at Buckfast Roy Starkey arranged to meet with the two directors at the RCM to discuss the current situation and future plans for the museum.

You can read some notes of the meeting here https://www.mindat.org/mesg-620971.html 

Please note that the views expressed in the article are entirely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Russell Society.

The Russell Society carried out an excavation of the mine dumps at Penberthy Croft Mine over two days in July 2021 to ascertain the state of the minerals within the dumps and to enhance the mineralogical knowledge of the complex suite of minerals from this site.

A series of twelve trenches were dug using an excavator to a depth of approx. 1-1.5m and a comprehensive search made of the material to identify any minerals exposed. Conditions within the dump were noted as it is well known that deterioration of minerals occurs where sulphides are present due to acid leaching.

A full scientific report on the results of the excavation including the minerals that were found can now be found in the members area of the website.

The field trip programme organised by the SW Branch has just been released and is given on the members page. Places are allocated on a “first come first served” basis. The first trip is on Sunday 19th March so do not delay.

Members who have had problems receiving their electronic newsletter can now read it on line. Go to the members page and scroll down to near the bottom where you will find a link to the latest newsletter -March 2023. It is a pdf so you can read it online or download it to your computer. You will also find links to earlier newsletters

8pm Wednesday 19th April via Zoom

A question that is starting to come up more and more often in conversations is “What should I do with my collection?” Today’s mineral collecting community is increasingly grey-haired and perhaps dominated by people who began collecting in the 1960s and 1970s. As such, this population of collectors and collections represents a considerable and potentially important mineralogical resource.

In a special event hosted by The Russell Society, and chaired by Roy Starkey, we will present an overview of the key factors to be considered, some of the constraints and hurdles to be overcome, as well as opportunities and threats which may confront us.

We owe it to the specimens, and to those who came before us from whom we have benefited so much, to ensure that our collections are handled in a suitably responsible and satisfactory manner, and that important pieces are curated and preserved together with as much curatorial data and specimen history as possible.

Is your collection properly labelled and organised such that someone coming to it ‘cold’ would be able to understand what is what, and to be confident in dispersing it appropriately? Do you have a catalogue? If so, is it on paper or in electronic form? If electronic, is it regularly backed-up and in a format likely to be machine readable in the future? Does someone else know how to access it, where to find passwords etc.? Do your family members understand the importance (and perhaps financial value) of your collection? Do they know who to contact and what to do in the event of your unexpected demise? Should the collection go to a museum or university (either in its entirety or segments of it)? Is the best route to return the specimens to the collecting fraternity via a sale or auction, or is sale to a dealer a better option.

We’ll be addressing these questions, and a whole lot more, in discussion with a panel of experts from the Natural History Museum (London), National Museum Wales, National Museums Northern Ireland, BGS, The Geological Curators’ Group and National Museums Scotland.

Please make a note of the date and join us for what is perhaps a unique opportunity to assess and to learn what you need to do to put your mineral (or fossil) collection in order whilst there is still time.

Members will find the link to the meeting on the members page, but all are welcome to attend. Just contact [email protected] to be put into contact with Roy Starkey

Roy Starkey

The ASM weekend, 31st March – 2nd April, is at Buckfast, on the fringes of the Dartmoor National Park. It is proving very popular with 60 delegates booked by the start of 2023. Members are urged to book up quickly particularly if they wish to secure a place on the associated field trips.